Modular, palletized system for a deployable sensor

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a modular, palletized system for a deployable sensor that provides for easy deployment with minimal interconnection to the vehicle carrying such system, and with no requirement for modification to the vehicle carrying such system. A pallet having a standardized construction for fitment onto a pallet-carrying portion of a vehicle carries a moveable carriage. The carriage in turn carries an arm and sensor head which may be moved through an opening in the vehicle (such as through the door of an airborne aircraft) and pivoted to deploy the sensor when intended for use, and to retract the sensor when such use is completed. As the system is specifically sized for fitment on a standard pallet profile, it may be installed on the pallet-carrying portion of such vehicle without need for retrofitting of the vehicle&#39;s body.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/255,237 titled “Modular, Palletized System for a Deployable Sensor,”filed Jan. 23, 2019 and now U.S. Pat. No. 10,969,256 issued Apr. 6,2021, which application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/620,559 titled “Modular, Palletized System for aDeployable Sensor,” filed Jan. 23, 2018, which applications areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to deployable sensor systems,and more particularly to a palletized, modular, vehicle-born sensorsystem configured for easy deployment from such vehicle and installationon such vehicle without modification of the vehicle structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Vehicle-borne sensors, and more particularly aerial sensors, are usedfor a wide variety of applications. For example, sensor platforms may bedeployed on aircraft for military and civilian purposes, such as theC-130 aircraft, such as for purposes of surveillance, targeting,chemical detection, weather monitoring, and a wide variety of otherapplications. Providing such airborne sensor platforms can significantlyextend the range for monitoring or detecting a particular condition wellbeyond capabilities afforded by many ground-based sensor systems.

However, challenges exists in the deployment and use of such airbornesensor systems. For example, while certain aircraft may be readily ableto carry a sensor platform of a particular configuration, outfitting ofthe aircraft with such a sensor system can be a time intensive process,creating significant challenge in emergency situations. Moreover, suchsensor systems typically carry highly sensitive equipment that may quiteeasily loose calibration when subjected to vibrations or shocks as maybe encountered in routine flights of the aircrafts that carry them. Evenfurther, while many of such sensors must be calibrated for proper or atleast optimal use, such through bore-sighting of an aircraft mountedlaser or the like, such calibration when the aircraft is in flight canbe a significant challenge. More particularly, as it is desirable toprovide such sensors with as wide a view as possible, in use they willoften deploy to a position that locates the sensor itself below thebottom of the fuselage of the aircraft. With such sensor platforms,carrying out calibration of such sensors on the ground is typically notan option, as deploying the sensor platform to its use position when theaircraft is on the ground would have the sensor impact the ground due toinsufficient clearance between the bottom of the fuselage and theground.

Therefore, there remains a need in the art for a vehicle-born sensorsystem, such as an aerial sensor system carried by an aircraft anddeployed from the aircraft during flight, that is easily installed ontoand removed from the aircraft so as to allow varied sensors to bedeployed for varying missions, that is sufficiently robust so as to beable to withstand the vibrations and shocks typically experienced duringflight operations, and that allows for ground-based calibration, such asbore-sighting, of the sensor platform without damage to the sensorplatform.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed herein is a modular, palletized, deployable sensor systemconfigured for easy roll-on/roll-off installation and removal from avehicle such as an aircraft. The system includes a pallet sized andotherwise configured for removable placement on a deck on the interiorof an aircraft. A tray system is affixed to the pallet, which traysystem carries a moveable carriage that moves a pivotable arm and sensorhead toward and away from a door in the fuselage of the aircraft. Thesensor head is mounted to the arm along an angled interface that allowsangular displacement of the sensor head with respect to the arm thatcarries it, which significantly aids in ground-based bore sighting ofinstruments within the sensor head. A pivot assembly is carried by themoveable carriage that pivots the arm and sensor head into positionafter moving them outside of the aircraft, and holds them in suchposition in a manner that ensures that a natural frequency of the armand the sensor head does not fall below 20 Hz (thus maintaining thestability of the arm and sensor head assembly during use in flightoperations). A wire guide is also provided between the tray system and apallet-mounted control console, which wire guide controls the paths ofcables extending form the console ultimately to the sensor head.

In accordance with certain aspects of a particular embodiment, adeployable sensor system is provided, comprising: a pallet; a moveablecarriage moveably mounted on the pallet; an arm having a first arm endadjacent the moveable carriage and a second arm end opposite the firstarm end and defining a longitudinal axis extending from the first armend to the second arm end; and a sensor head rotatably mounted to thesecond arm end and defining a second longitudinal axis extending fromthe arm to a distal end of the sensor head; wherein the sensor head isrotatable with respect to the arm to change an orientation of the firstand second longitudinal axes from collinear to angled.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the presentinvention and together with the below description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an aircraft employing a deployablesensor system in accordance with certain aspects of an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a close-up perspective view of the deployable sensor of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of a deployable sensor systeminstalled inside of an aircraft in accordance with certain aspects of anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a close-up, rear view of the deployable sensor system.

FIG. 5 is detailed, partially exploded perspective view of thedeployable sensor system.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a sensor head, arm, and moveablecarriage of a deployable sensor system in a stowed position.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a sensor head, arm, and moveablecarriage of a deployable sensor system in an intermediate position.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a sensor head, arm, and moveablecarriage of a deployable sensor system in a fully deployed position.

FIG. 9 is a close-up, rear, sectional view of the deployable sensorsystem.

FIG. 10(a) is a close-up, perspective view of a knuckle for use in thedeployable sensor system.

FIG. 10(b) is a top view of the knuckle of FIG. 10(a).

FIG. 10(c) is a cross-section view of the knuckle of FIG. 10(b) alongsection line C-C.

FIG. 10(d) is a side view of the knuckle of FIG. 10(a).

FIG. 10(e) is a cross-sectional view of the knuckle of FIG. 10(d) alongsection line D-D.

FIG. 10(f) is a cross-sectional view of the knuckle of FIG. 10(d) alongsection line E-E.

FIG. 11 is a close-up, sectional view of a connection between a knuckleand arm of a pivot assembly for use in the deployable sensor system.

FIG. 12 is a close-up, perspective view of a knuckle and forward end ofa moveable carriage for use in the deployable sensor system.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a pivot assembly for use in thedeployable sensor system.

FIG. 14 is an exploded view of the pivot assembly of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the pivot assembly of FIG. 13positioned in a moveable carriage for use in the deployable sensorsystem.

FIG. 16 is a partially exploded view of the pivot assembly and moveablecarriage of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of an arm and sensor head for use in thedeployable sensor system.

FIG. 18 is a side view of the arm and sensor head of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a close-up perspective view of an upper collar and lowercollar for use in the arm of FIGS. 17 and 18.

FIG. 20 is a rear view of the deployable sensor system showing variouspositions of a sensor head upon rotation of the sensor head with respectto an arm of the deployable sensor system.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a tray system for use in the deployablesensor system.

FIG. 22 is another perspective view of the tray system of FIG. 21 andincluding a moveable carriage of the deployable sensor system.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the deployable sensor system of FIG. 1including details of a wire guide.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the deployable sensor system of FIG. 1including details of the wire guide of FIG. 23 and positioning of thedeployable sensor system with respect to the interior of an aircraft.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention may be understood by referring to the followingdescription, claims, and accompanying drawings. This description of anembodiment, set out below to enable one to practice an implementation ofthe invention, is not intended to limit the preferred embodiment, but toserve as a particular example thereof. Those skilled in the art shouldappreciate that they may readily use the conception and specificembodiments disclosed as a basis for modifying or designing othermethods and systems for carrying out the same purposes of the presentinvention. Those skilled in the art should also realize that suchequivalent assemblies do not depart from the spirit and scope of theinvention in its broadest form.

Disclosed herein is a modular, palletized, roll-on/roll-off system for adeployable sensor that provides for easy deployment with minimalinterconnection to the vehicle carrying such system, and with norequirement for modification to the vehicle carrying such system. Asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a system in accordance with certain aspects ofan embodiment provides for a deployable sensor head 110 mounted to theend of a moveable arm 120, which in use extends through the fuselage ofan aircraft 200, and more particularly through an opening in a doorpanel of the aircraft 200. The sensor head 110, when fully deployed,extends downward from the opening in the door panel of the aircraft 200preferably by a sufficient distance to provide a wide field of view, andmore preferably a 360° view, without being blocked by any part of theaircraft's fuselage. In such position, moveable arm 120 is generallyvertical with respect to the aircraft's fuselage (i.e., oriented suchthat a major axis extending through the length of arm 120 isperpendicular to a major axis extending from the front end to the backend of the aircraft), with the portion of arm 120 closest to sensor head110 being similarly vertically aligned with the rest of arm 120.

FIG. 3 shows a modular, palletized, deployable sensor system 100 inaccordance with certain aspects of an embodiment of the inventionincluding sensor head 110 and arm 120 as described above and positionedon the interior deck 210 of aircraft 200. Likewise, FIG. 4 shows aclose-up rear view of deployable sensor system 100 with sensor head 110in the fully deployed position, and FIG. 5 shows a detailed, partiallyexploded perspective view of deployable sensor system 100 with sensorhead 110 in the fully deployed position. While the following elements ofsystem 100 are described in greater detail below, by way of summary themajor components of such system include sensor head 110, arm 120, apallet 130 mounted to the deck 210 of aircraft 200, and a tray system140 mounted to the pallet 130, which tray system 140 moveably mounts amoveable carriage 150 to move sensor head 110 and arm 120 toward itsdeployed position and back to its stowed position. A door system (showngenerally at 215) seals the interior of aircraft 200 when sensor system100 is stowed and not in use (as shown in FIG. 3), and allows sensorhead 110 and arm 120 to extend through when deployed. In thisconfiguration when intended for use, door system 215 may be opened, andsensor head 110 and arm 120 may be moved through door system 215 fromits stowed position (shown in FIG. 3) to its deployed position (shown inFIGS. 1 and 2). In that deployed position, sensor head 110 (which may byway of non-limiting example comprise a camera system, a radiationdetection system, an infrared system, or such other sensor systems asmay occur to those skilled in the art) may be employed to perform itsintended function and collect the intended data. After use, the sensorhead 110 and arm 120 may be retracted back into the fuselage of aircraft200, door system 215 may be closed, and flight operations may continueas normal.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 3-5, deployable sensor system 100 ismounted on a base 130, such as a pallet that provides a base on whichthe entire deployable sensor system 100 is mounted, thus providing aready roll-on/roll-off function for quick and easy installation andremoval from an aircraft. In certain configurations, pallet 130 maycomprise a 463 L type air cargo handling pallet, which provides aready-to-install base for fixed positioning on the deck 210 of anaircraft 200, such as a C130 aircraft deck, and which provides a readyroll-on/roll-off capability for easy installation and removal of theentire deployable sensor system 100. Brackets 131 for use in attaching a463 L pallet to the deck of a C130 (and which are of knownconfiguration) are provided to fix deployable sensor system 100 to deck210 once pallet 130 is properly positioned within the aircraft fuselage.For example, brackets 131 allow pallet 130, and thus all of deployablesensor system 100, to be bolted or otherwise rigidly affixed to the bodyof the aircraft 200, and more particularly to deck 210 within thefuselage of aircraft 200.

Mounted at the rear edge of pallet 130 (i.e., the portion of pallet 130closest to the rear of aircraft 200) is tray system 140. As discussed ingreater detail below, tray system 140 moveably mounts moveable carriage150 for lateral movement (i.e., side to side movement with respect todeck 210 on which pallet 130 is positioned) from a stowed position(shown in FIG. 3) to a deployed position (shown in FIGS. 4 and 5).Moveable carriage 150 in turn carries arm 120 and sensor head 110, suchthat as moveable carriage 150 moves toward its deployed position, sensorhead 110 and arm 120 extend outward through door system 215 toward theirdeployed position. Moveable carriage 150 also carries a pivot assembly(shown generally at 160) that pivots arm 120 and sensor head 110 fromthe generally horizontal, stowed position of FIG. 3 to the generallyvertical, deployed position of FIGS. 4 and 5. Pivot assembly 160, asdiscussed in greater detail below, includes an extensible shaft 161 thatis pivotably mounted to moveable carriage 150, and that joins to arm 120at a pivot knuckle 121 so that extension of shaft 161 pivots arm 120 andsensor head 110 at pivot knuckle 121 downward toward their deployedposition, and so that retraction of shaft 161 pivots arm 120 and sensorhead 110 at pivot knuckle 121 upward toward their stowed position.Additionally, pallet 130 carries instrumentation and control consoles300 that may include all controls necessary for operating deployablesensor system 100, and preferably operator stations (including seats),all positioned at the forward side of pallet 130 (best shown in FIG. 5).Also as discussed in more detail below, a wire guide 170 is positionedon pallet 130 between tray system 140 and instrumentation and controlconsoles 300, which wire guide 170 directs a length of wires frominstrumentation and control consoles 300 to moveable carriage 150 fordata communication as moveable carriage 150 moves from its stowed to itsdeployed position, and vice versa.

Next, FIGS. 6-8 show the progressive movement of arm 120 and sensor head110 from the stowed position (shown in FIG. 6), to an intermediateposition (shown in FIG. 7), and ultimately to the fully deployedposition (shown in FIG. 8) (all with certain elements of deployablesensor system 100 not shown for clarity). With reference to FIG. 6, inthe stowed position, moveable carriage 150 is positioned so that the endof sensor head 110 is contained within the footprint of pallet 130(i.e., with moveable carriage 150 positioned furthest toward the end oftray system 140 that is opposite door system 215). In this position, arm120 is positioned so that a major axis extending through the length ofarm 120 is generally parallel to the length of tray system 140. A doorsealing panel 221 is mounted to pivot knuckle 121, which will seal anopening 217 in door system 215 when the deployable sensor system 100 isfully deployed. In the fully stowed position of FIG. 6, such doorsealing panel 221 sits at an upward angle pointing away from door system215, and will ultimately pivot to an upward angle pointing toward doorsystem 215 as deployable sensor system 100 is deployed (as shown in FIG.8). Next, and with reference to FIG. 7, during deployment of sensor head110 to the exterior of the aircraft, moveable carriage 150 travelslaterally (with respect to aircraft 200) along tray system 140 towarddoor system 215. Before advancing moveable carriage 150 toward doorsystem 215, and with reference again to FIG. 3, hatch 220 (which fullyseals door system 215 when deployable sensor system 100 is stowed andnot in use) is opened to provide an opening 217 in the fuselage (sizedto sealingly receive door sealing panel 221) that will allow sensor head110 and arm 120 to pass through to the exterior of the aircraft.Finally, and with reference to FIG. 8, arm 120 and sensor head 110 arepivoted downward by pivot assembly 160, as pivot knuckle 121 carriesdoor sealing panel 221 into alignment with and ultimately sealing ofopening 217 in door system 215. In this position, sensor head 110 may beoperated to collect the intended data from outside of aircraft 200.

FIG. 9 shows a rear, cross-sectional view of pivot assembly 160 engagingpivot knuckle 121 to pivot and ultimately hold arm 120 and sensor head110 in their fully deployed position outside of aircraft 200. Pivotassembly 160 includes a housing 162 that is pivotably mounted at pivotjoint 163 to moveable carriage 150. Housing 162 preferably comprises ascrew jack operated by a screw jack motor 167 (FIG. 4) that extends andretracts shaft 161. A shaft head 164 affixed to the distal end of shaft161 pivotably attaches to pivot knuckle 121 at knuckle connector shaft123. Shaft head 164 abuts a bottom portion of a curved notch 124 (havinga complementary shape to shaft head 164) in pivot knuckle 121 when arm120 and sensor head 110 are in the fully deployed position shown in FIG.9. Pivot knuckle 121 is in turn pivotably mounted to moveable carriage150 at knuckle shaft 122. Thus, as shaft 161 is extended, pivot knuckle121 rotates about knuckle shaft 122, in turn causing arm 120 and sensorhead 110 to be pivoted into their deployed positions shown in FIG. 9. Insuch fully deployed position, a bottom, forward edge 127 of pivotknuckle 121 comes in contact with a stop wedge 125 to stop furtherforward pivoting movement of pivot knuckle 121. As an added securitymeasure, positioning switches 128 are preferably provided, such as (byway of non-limiting example) limit switches, crash switches, encoders,and the like, to ensure proper positioning and orientation of arm 120and sensor 110 in their fully deployed positions.

FIGS. 10(a) through 10(f) show various close-up views of knuckle 121.Knuckle 121 includes arms 1210 that pivotably mount main body 1212 tomoveable carriage 150, which main body 1212 receives the top (orproximal) end of arm 120. A bottom end of arms 1210 includes openings1214 that receive knuckle shaft 122. An upper end of arms 1210 includeopenings 1216 that receive knuckle connector shaft 123 (joining knuckle121 to shaft head 164 of shaft 161). Curved notch 124 sits between arms1210 and provides a point of contact with the outer face of shaft head164 as knuckle 121 is rotated from the stowed position to the deployedposition. A cable pass-through 126 is situated at the top of main body1212 of knuckle 121, allowing electrical cables (not shown) to pass frominstrumentation and control consoles 300 ultimately into arm 120 andsensor head 110, all while keeping a tight seal so as to maintainpressurization within the aircraft. A flange 1218 extends around knuckle121 at the interface of arms 1210 and main body 1212, which flange 1218provides a mounting surface for door sealing panel 221 so as to carrydoor sealing panel 221 into its closed and sealed position upon fulldeployment of knuckle 121.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show close-up sectional and perspective views,respectfully, of the connection between knuckle 121 and arm 161. Asshown in FIG. 11, deployable sensor system 100, in accordance withcertain features of a particular embodiment, may be configured with a3-point contact on knuckle 121, which 3-point contact prevents thenatural frequency of the arm 120 and sensor head 110 assembly fromdropping below 20 Hz, and thus maintaining an optimal operationalenvironment for sensor head 110 when it is deployed and collecting data.More particularly, when fully deployed, knuckle 121 is compressedbetween the pressure of screw jack shaft 161 (and specifically shafthead 164) and stop wedge 125. Optionally, a sacrificial plate 125(a) maybe situated between stop wedge 125 and knuckle 121, which for instancemay be formed from lower grade aluminum, and thus easily able to bereplaced periodically on an as-needed basis without significant cost oreffort. In such configuration, during the pivoting of knuckle 121 towardits fully deployed position, a controller slows the knuckle 121 as itapproaches sacrificial plate 125(a). Limit switch 128 completely stopsknuckle 121 from further movement toward the deployed position whenknuckle 121 contacts sacrificial plate 125(a). This configurationprovides the 3-point contact on knuckle 121 without adding significantforce on stop wedge 125 on moveable carriage 150, again providing thedeployable sensor system 100 a natural frequency that will not dropbelow 20 Hz. Those three points of contact thus include: (i) the mainpivot (knuckle shaft 122 joining knuckle 121 to moveable carriage 150);(ii) knuckle connector shaft 123 joining screw jack shaft 161 (and moreparticularly head 164 of shaft 161) to knuckle 121 (rotating about aPTFE bushing); and (iii) stop wedge 125, or sacrificial plate 125(a) ifprovided. If knuckle 121 is moved beyond the position allowed by limitswitch 128, a crash switch may additionally be provided which wouldactivate at that point to avoid damage to stop wedge 125.

FIG. 13 provides a close-up perspective view, and FIG. 14 an explodedview, of pivot assembly 160. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, motor 152powers screw jack shaft 161 to extend shaft 161 (and shaft head 164)from housing 162, and likewise to retract shaft 161. A brake assembly153 is also provided that disengages motor 152 from screw jack shaft161, thus allowing manual movement of knuckle 121 for manual pivoting ofarm 120 and sensor head 110. FIG. 15 provides a perspective, detail viewof pivot assembly 160 mounted on moveable carriage 150, and FIG. 16provides a partially exploded view of the same. As shown in FIG. 16,moveable carriage 150 includes mounting pins 154 which pivotably receivepivot assembly 160, thus allowing pivotable movement of shaft 161 as arm120 is pivoted from the stowed to the deployed positions.

Next, FIG. 17 shows a perspective view, and FIG. 18 a side view, of arm120 and sensor head 110. Arm 120 includes a main shaft 1220 having anupper rim that attaches to main body 1212 of knuckle 121, such as by wayof threaded connectors such as standard bolts. At the bottom of mainbody 1212, arm 120 includes an upper collar 1222. and a lower collar1224. Lower collar 1224 is rotatably mounted to upper collar 1222 alongan angled interface 111 (best shown in the close-up view of FIG. 19).Sensor head 110, in turn, is affixed to lower collar 1224, such as byway of threaded connectors such as standard bolts. A latch 1226 locksthe position of lower collar 1224 with respect to upper collar 1222 toprevent relative rotation between them. However, as shown in FIG. 20,when latch 1226 is open, lower collar 1224 may be manually rotated withrespect to upper collar 1224 along angled interface 111. Because theinterface between upper collar 1222 and lower collar 1224 is angled,such rotation causes lower collar 1224 and sensor head 110 to changetheir linear orientation with respect to main shaft 1220 of arm 120,thus creating an angular offset A between a first axis 1230 extendingthrough main shaft 1220 and upper collar 1222, and a second axis 1240extending through lower collar 1224 and sensor head 110. Suchconfiguration is useful for bore-sighting instrumentation positionedwithin sensor head 110.

More particularly and as mentioned above, arm 120 and sensor head 110are provided a sufficient length so that when they are in their fullydeployed position outside of the aircraft, sensor head 110 extendspreferably below the bottom of the fuselage of the aircraft to provide amaximized field of view. Of course, when the aircraft is positioned onthe ground, such full deployment of arm 120 and sensor head 110 wouldnot be possible, as lowering sensor head 110 toward that fully deployedposition would cause it to impact the ground surface on which thegrounded aircraft is located. However, vertical orientation of at leastsensor head 110 is desirable when the aircraft is on the ground to allowbore-sighting of the sensors within sensor head 110. Thus, when aircraft200 is positioned on the ground, arm 120 and sensor head 110 may beextended out of the aircraft's fuselage as detailed above, andparticularly to the intermediate position shown in FIG. 7. At thispoint, arm 120 and sensor head 110 may be moved by pivot assembly 160only partially toward the fully deployed position, and preferably to aposition in which the first axis 1230 extending through main shaft 1220of arm 120 and second axis 1240 extending through sensor head 110 (beingcollinear) are positioned at approximately 60° degrees to horizontal. Inthis position, latch 1226 may be released, and sensor head 110 may bepivoted (by rotating lower collar 1224 with respect to upper collar1222) so that second axis 1240 is vertically aligned while first axis1230 remains angled with respect to horizontal. In this intermediatelydeployed position, the bottom of sensor head 110 is positionedvertically above what its position would otherwise be if lower collar1224 had not been rotated with respect to upper collar and the entireassembly of arm 120 and sensor head 110 were in their fully deployedpositions. In such position with sensor head 110 now vertically alignedbut with its bottom edge above the surface of the ground, instrumentswithin sensor head 110 may be bore sighted to a fixed, ground-basedtarget, vastly simplifying the bore-sighting process from those thatmust be carried out during airborne operations.

Next, FIG. 21 provides a detail perspective view of tray system 140. Asmentioned above and with reference to both FIGS. 21 and 22, tray system140 moveably mounts moveable carriage 150 for lateral movement withrespect to pallet 130 on which tray system 140 is mounted. Moreparticularly, moveable carriage 150 engages a drive assembly 141 thatmoves along screw 142, which screw 142 in turn is driven by motorassembly 143 on tray system 140. Moveable carriage 150 is alsopreferably mounted to guide blocks 147 that slide along guide rails 146.Motor assembly 143 includes a brake 144 that, as above, allowsdisengagement of motor assembly 143 from screw 142, thus allowing manualmovement of moveable carriage 150 with respect to tray system 140 whennecessary. Tray system 140 preferably has a length that matches thewidth dimension of pallet 130, and thus extends from one side to theother of pallet 130 at the back end of pallet 130. Limit switches 145are provided and configured to automatically terminate movement ofmoveable carriage 150 when it reaches the designated limit positions.FIG. 22 provides a perspective view of tray system 140 with moveablecarriage 150 moved along rails 146 to its deployed position.

FIG. 23 shows a perspective view of a wire guide 2310 with moveablecarriage 150 having moved sensor head 110 and arm 120 to the deployedpositions, such that moveable carriage 150 is positioned at a limit endof tray system 140. FIG. 24 shows a perspective view wire guide 2310with the full deployable sensor system 100 in the same position as FIG.23. As shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, control cables 2300 (interconnectingthe electronics of carriage 150, and ultimately of sensor head 110, withcontrol electronics of instrumentation and control consoles 300, asshown in FIG. 1) are routed from instrumentation and control consoles300 through a wire guide (shown generally at 2310) that controls thepath of control cables 2300 between instrumentation and control consoles300 and moveable carriage 150 as moveable carriage 150 moves along traysystem 140. Wire guide 2310 includes a window 2312 that receives cables2300 from the console side of deployable sensor system 100 and directsthem toward a lower channel 2314 on wire guide 2310. A chain assembly2316 comprised of rigid, hollow links receive and carries cables 2300therein. Chain assembly 2316 has a first end positioned within lowerchannel 2314, and chain assembly 2316 curves upward toward and isretained by an upper chain guide 2318, with a second end of chainassembly 2316 being positioned adjacent upper chain guide 2318. Fromthat second end of chain assembly 2316, cables 2300 are directeddownward toward moveable carriage 150. With this configuration, asmoveable carriage moves toward the deployed position shown in FIGS. 23and 24, the path of cables 2300 is contained within chain assembly 2316,which itself is contained between lower channel 2314 and upper chainguide 2318 of wire guide 2310, in turn maintaining all such controlcables 2300 cleanly deployable and stowable throughout all movement ofmoveable carriage 150.

As shown throughout the figures, door system 215 is configured for easymovement from the closed position (shown in FIG. 3) to the open positionvia pivoting mounting arms 222, which cause the aircraft door to swingboth inward and to the side when the door is pulled. Once the door isopened and the system 100 is deployed, door sealing panel 221 seals theopening left by open door system 215.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the foregoing offers amodular, palletized system for a deployable sensor that provides foreasy deployment with minimal interconnection to the vehicle carryingsuch system, and with no requirement for modification to the vehiclecarrying such system. The system is configured so that it is hidden fromsight when the vehicle, and more particularly an aircraft, carrying suchsystem is not in use—such as when such aircraft is on the ground, takingoff, or landing, thus aiding in maintaining security during covertoperations. As a palletized system, it may be easily positioned on anaircraft when desired simply through loading as any other pallet wouldbe loaded on the aircraft, thus allowing easy installation withoutmodification to the aircraft body.

Having now fully set forth the preferred embodiments and certainmodifications of the concept underlying the present invention, variousother embodiments as well as certain variations and modifications of theembodiments herein shown and described will obviously occur to thoseskilled in the art upon becoming familiar with said underlying concept.It should be understood, therefore, that the invention may be practicedotherwise than as specifically set forth herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A deployable sensor system, comprising: a pallet; a moveable carriage moveably mounted on said pallet; an arm having a first arm end adjacent said moveable carriage and a second arm end opposite said first arm end, and a collar assembly positioned at said second arm end, said collar assembly further comprising a first collar fixed on said arm and having an angled lower face, and a second collar rotatably mounted on said arm and having an angled upper face mating with said angled lower face on said first collar; and a sensor head mounted to said second collar. 